First time DIY advice needed

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

MY MARCH PROJECT. (I watched 1 video on DIY) I'm a 55 yr old new vaper ( 2 weeks ) trying to look ahead at creating my own e liquid. I currently vape at 12 nic, and around a PG 70 / VG 30 mix (though I do have some 80/20 and 50/50 ). I'm not a cloud chaser, and I am looking for the flavor. I use nautilus mini's and will be purchasing a mod sometime this month. It's quite possible I will venture into sub ohm's later this year, and purchase the necessary equipment for it.

I can get a gallon of PG (USP) locally for about $25. I figure I can get a liter of VG for start at an online supplier. (gets me close to 75/25 mix) The question I have is about the nicotine. Different forum suppliers offer the nicotine in various mediums. The more I read the more confused I get about what to use. I anticipate lowering my nicotine level once I start modding and in fact it is a goal.

The question I have.... what should I buy in the nicotine area? If I buy a 12 mg nicotine in a PG or VG medium, can it be "cut" in half by adding an equal portion of same medium? Would I be better off using a different type of nicotine? I've seen "unflavored nicotine" and different percentage nicotine's.

So what quantity/strength/type should I purchase?

I am comfortable with the different flavorings and the equipment needed. I plan on researching Youtube, and the forum for recipies and such. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Greg Sir2fyablyNutz = (sir 2 f-eye uh blee nuts)

 

[bwh79]

The price goes up much slower than the nic content as you buy stronger and stronger nicotine solutions. The most cost-effective way is to buy 100mg/ml (10% by volume) nic and cut it yourself with the other base liquids for a fraction of the price.

Another advantage of using a stronger nic base is that it allows for greater flexibility in the final mix. If you start with 24mg nic base in PG, for example, and are mixing for a target strength of 12mg, then you can't get more than 50% VG, even with all VG-based flavorings, since at least half of your final liquid needs to be the PG-based nic. With 100mg nic base, on the other hand, you only need 12% of it in the final mix allowing up to 88% VG-based other ingredients.

As for which carrier to choose, PG is thinner and easier to work with, and has a longer shelf-life (2 years, versus 1 year for VG, although both will keep for significantly longer if you store them in the freezer.) It is for these reasons that PG is often recommended as the preferred carrier liquid. On the other hand, some users report a sort of "fishy" or "dirty laundry" smell from PG-based nic that's been sitting around unrefrigerated for some time. VG doesn't seem to do this although being a more viscous material, it can be tougher to work with by sticking to the sides of mixing vessels, taking forever to draw into a syringe, etc. Additionally, some vendors offer nic base in a PG/VG mix, instead of only straight one or the other. If you get your 100mg nic in 50/50 PG/VG, then you can get a final mixture at 12mg strength with up to 94% of either one.

 

[Hoodlumj78]

I differently agree with BWH79. I bought a bottle of 120 ml solution and it was 100mg/ml (10% by volume). There is some good online and app calculators for your phone. In a nut shell if you only make 10ml of juice and your nicotine level is 12 then using a syringe you are close to 1.2 ml/cc per 10ml. Once you make a bottle or two it's like I really don't need a calculator. I was so confused and now feel like an idiot once it clicked and made sense.

Maybe this helps, when you buy bottles some manufactures like to mess with our minds and call the nicotine levels 10,12,18,24,and etc.. They are actually 1%,1.2%,1.8%,2.4% and etc... So buying a 10% by volume at 100 ml then 1 ml is 1%.or 10 of nicotine in a 10ml bottle of finished ejuice. So you're wanting to make 12 then you need 1.2 cc/ml of solution not 12cc/ml which would give you only 10% since this is how much nicotine is in the solution and not giving you 12%. The most nicotine allowed that is considered safe that some distributors offer is 3.6 percent. This is why the bottle of 100mg/ml nicotine has the warning it must be diluted. IF you would vape this straight you would be getting 10% regardless the size of bottle and would get nicotine poisoning. Strong advice is to wear gloves since once this stuff gets on your skin you can't just wash it off its too late.

To be straight forward buy 100mg/ml (10%) unflavored nicotine. If you get a weird number then just use the calculator it will figure it out how to cut it. The post above has great suggestions as to which one to buy VG or PG or a split mix. I went for VG. A better answer is what is your PG/VG mix. If you are going for a 60vg/40pg and have a VG nicotine base. Making a 10ml bottle at 12 you are already using 1.2ml of VG juice so you would need to add 5.8 cc/ml of VG to make your VG level at 60 and the remaining 40 or 4 ml is PG. If you are making a 10% flavor and its a PG base well that's 1ml so all you need is 3 ml to get 40PG.

If you are confused it's like this 60VG/40PG is 60%VG and 40% PG. IF my nicotine is in PG and my Flavoring is PG I'm already going to have at least a 30PG liquid so technically I don't need to buy PG if I'm doing a 70VG/30PG. But that's thick and PG is a good reducer so another 1ml of PG drops me down to a 60VG/40PG meaning when I order my supplies I should buy a bigger bottle of VG than I do PG.

Hopefully that makes sense and easy to understand.

 

[hooplah101]

Agreed 100 mg/ml 50/50 from my freedom smokes = great prices, good quality, and fast shipping. 100 mg/ml makes it super easy to do the math. 12 mg / 1.2 ml, 6 / 0.6 and so on! Good luck and have fun.

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

I appreciate the feedback and advice. I found it strange that I did understand the math in the examples you provided. I'm going in the area of 70 PG to 30 VG for my finished product. The fact that the 100 mg/ml is easy to work with appeals to me. I already have rubber gloves, and purchasing other protective equipment is not a problem. Going in this direction now leaves me with hours of reading, but at least I'll start to understand it better. Again, thanks for the input.

 

[dannyv45]

All great advice above. If your going to vape a higher PG concentration you will want to get your Nicotine in PG. Cost and calculation wise I think that 100mg makes a lot of sense. To help you along let me recommend some research.

My blogs will give insight into all aspects of DYI, from steeping to what supplies to have on hand to a basic walk through mixing your first E-juice.

E-Cigarette Forum - dannyv45 - Blogs

Then read hoosier's blogs. These blogs concentrate on fine tuning your mix and give insight on additives.

E-Cigarette Forum - Hoosier - Blogs

Then read Boletus's blog's. These blogs concentrate on formulation of nicotine bases regarding proper calculations methods for figuring Nicotine concentration as well as safety.

E-Cigarette Forum - Boletus - Blogs

Then read Ginger's book "E-Cigarettes 102: DIY E-Liquid". It is a book which I've contributed to that delivers an in depth easy to follow guide in the art of DYI.

E-Cigarettes 102: DIY E-Liquid

I recommend viewing VPLive Vape Team Episode #82: DIY Safety and bookmark it for future reference. It explains safety in all aspects of DYI.

VPLive Vape Team Episode #82: DIY Safety

then read the stickies at the top of the page.

this will explain a lot of the how's and why's.

 

[Hoodlumj78]

Just a quick reply, shop around for your stuff. I'm always looking for the best price. Locally I can buy PG but have to order VG. The site I like using is ecigexpress.com. They are cheaper by the gallon then my local store. But that's not considering shipping cost which are reasonable. But I will say this their shipping is fast and I believe it comes from Washington. With that said my 1st order was literally shipped in 2 hrs from being placed but my second order took on 3 days before they shipped it. I was told sometimes they can take 7 days to ship but normally it is the same day. They so far have the best prices but if you need it now may need to order from someone else. This also means don't pay for the faster shipping. Just FYI. And if you have read the concerns about flavors from China just buy from the American Companies.